The Echo of a Demon
by r0tt3n-377
Summary: Character Death. Oneshot. Shounenai. SasuNaru. Naruto follows a painful decision during Kyuubi's attempted escape. A decision of his own making, and takes the consequences. RR please.


**Warnings: **One-Shot, Shounen-ai, Major Character Death, overall sadness and God-**awful** writing ahead! (AN: at the bottom)

* * *

**The Echo Of A Demon**

_by:_

_r0tt3n-377_

* * *

The air in the room was heavy. So heavy the shinobi could feel it: pushing and dragging their hearts down with it.

They watched as a young man writhed on the floor, his pained screams falling onto seemingly deaf ears. His wails echoed, begging them to stop the pain, to kill him just so that the agony burning through his body would stop. But they didn't, they didn't raise a finger to help him.

Through the misty haze clouding his mind and vision, he saw something and knew that they weren't trying to spite him.

Tears. Nearly everyone in the room was crying. Sobbing openly, or just silently watching him with sorrow. They _were_ sad, and they _did _care for him.

But although he knew this, he couldn't stop his screams, couldn't stop pleading for death to take him. Couldn't stop the fire burning through his veins like poison. He couldn't stop feeling regret that he was putting all his loved ones through this emotional hurt.

He gasped, convulsing, as a particularly bad wave shook through him.

He knew it. It was near the end, and he knew that even if this was his last breath, he couldn't let his precious people watch him die.

He stilled, curling up, completely stiff. He repressed every single onslaught of Chakra that ripped through his body.

Both the kunoichi outside of the protective box-barrier surrounding him knew what he was doing. They shrieked at him to stop, wishing with all their hearts that he'd listen. He blocked them out.

While they all watched in horror, one dark-haired male was completely apathetic. The man on the floor's skin bubbled as if it were only liquid on a hot stove. It ripped in places, and blood started dripping down, falling into his usually golden hair, his closed eyes, into his sweat-soaked clothes.

Lashes of demonic red Chakra swung out from beneath his skin, ripping muscles and flesh easily to escape and crashed into the blue barrier.

The blonde suddenly restrained it as much as possible, even though he knew that it would cause him even more of the immense agony.

His eyes widened, his mouth agape in a soundless scream. It was too painful to describe with sound. All of a sudden, he shuddered and slumped.

Everything was silent as the red receded.

Everyone breathed in relief and the barrier went down, ready to jump up again if any problems arose.

The dark-haired man that had been seemingly emotionless throughout everything was the first by his side, followed by a buxom blonde woman. They both fell to their knees beside him, and struggled to sit him upright.

"Naruto…" the whisper was quiet but there, and the man couldn't do anything but respond.

"I'm… sorry. I really… didn't… think when I asked… to leave." The Hokage smiled, about the utter some reassurance. He stopped her with a weak shake of his head. "I should'a… just… left. Unnoticed." He gasped out, coughing and hacking.

He tilted his head to the side. Blood dribbled down his cheek slowly, marking its place on the pale, scarred skin.

"Wa-wait, Naruto. I'll heal you. God help me if I-" Tsunade's voice quietened when she saw him move his head in a weak rendition of a shake, again.

"For…forgive me… Sasuke." The words echoed in the silent confusion of everyone in the room, except one.

Sasuke's black eyes grew almost round with shock. His mouth opened slightly as he stared horrified at his injured team mate.

He grew frantic. "No. No, Naruto, you don't understand! I lo-"

Again he was cut off. But this time it was by Naruto's hand on his own, which was clenched in a fist. It loosened and Naruto took his hand.

"I'm scared… really…scared." He breathed, holding his other hand so he sandwiched Sasuke's in his. Subtly, he formed a seal.

Sasuke felt the Chakra pass through his hand to his friend's. It burned, oh god, did it burn. He ignored it and tried pulling the hands away.

"No. No, no, no. You can't! Naruto-"

When he managed to rip them apart, it was already too late. "Shunshin." And Naruto was gone. One word, and he'd disappeared.

"-I love you." He whispered into the blood-soaked yet empty floor, tears trekking down his face and falling onto his bloodied hands.

Tsunade and Sakura's yells and sobs flew past him. He couldn't hear anything anymore. Just Naruto's last words, _'I'm scared'_.

He was at an emotional blank. His eyes were no longer cold, but more unfeeling than they had ever been before. Even after the murder of his family at his brother's hands, betraying Naruto for the first time, leaving Konoha, during all those bad times he'd _never_ felt this empty. The others shuddered at the sight of him, but he didn't see them. He saw the blood. Naruto's blood on his hands.

Now, he was _just_ empty.

Naruto had known he couldn't hold it in for long. He'd held it in enough for them to lower the barrier, to allow his Chakra freedom. And waited.

Naruto didn't want them to see him die.

Sasuke had always said that the always-happy blonde had been too considerate for his own good, to the point where it was unhealthy. Ironic.

-

Stomach churning moments later, an echo washed over them. Not sound, and there was no wind or breeze blowing. But it was an echo, of malevolence, of hate.

The echo of a demon.

And as fast as the wave passed over them, it disappeared, passing over other victims, covering the whole of Konoha and then some.

The village was silent as a grave for less than a second before children burst into tears and cowered behind their parents. Adults shivered in fear, coldness gripping their bones and chilling their muscles. People retched on alley corners, and fainted in the streets and houses.

It was an echo, but an echo was more than enough to cause this amount of distress.

This was just an echo of the horrors Naruto had to live with. The sorrow and raw _torture_ that _had_ been Naruto's life.

And every single person who knew what the 'echo' was, regretted.

-

Not long after that, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura and the Godaime found his body. It lay on top of the path to the Hokage's mountain. Above the Fourth's head.

His torn body was lying in more or less the same position as they had last seen him. Except, his arm was stretched out, hand open and crusted.

Astounding as it was, in his last moments, Naruto had managed to trace three characters. Three letters.

_'ILY'_

And there was no doubt who those last words were directed to.

'_I love you, Sasuke.'_

- Owari -

* * *

**AN: **How was it? Good? Bad? God-awful-I-wanna-slap-you-in-the-face-with-a-live-salmon bad? Review? _Pretty Please?_

If I get enough Reviews (positive ones, at least) I'll write another One-Shot... MAYBE EVEN A FIC! (currently writing two, but I might even put them _up! _Rejoice! -dances off-


End file.
